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Forgotten photos of a double killer
Mentions: Donnalee Campbell Duhamel, Shari Miller and Tracey Campbell Publication: The Guardian Date: 27 July 2006 Author: Dan Glaister Original: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/jul/27/usa.danglaister ---- A man who has been in prison for 18 years could emerge as one of America's most prolific serial killers after Los Angeles police uncovered a cache of more than 50 photographs of women that had been forgotten for two decades. Bill Bradford was convicted of two murders in 1988 after posing as a professional photographer and taking pictures of women before killing them and dumping their bodies in the desert. On Tuesday the Los Angeles sheriff's department released photos of at least 50 women that were found in Bradford's flat at the time of his arrest. "Many of them could have likely been homicide victims themselves. Many of them may have just been women that he met in bars and took home and took photographs of," Captain Ray Peavy said. Bradford was convicted of the 1984 murders of Shari Miller, 21, and Tracey Campbell, 15. Posing as a professional photographer he met women at bars or car races. After taking photographs of Miller, whom he met at a bar in Los Angeles, he travelled with her to the Mojave desert, where he strangled her before dumping her body. Six days later he killed Campbell, photographing her and leaving her body in the desert. The pictures released by detectives were taken between 1975 and 1984, when Bradford, who worked as a handyman at the apartment complex where he lived, was running an amateur photography business in Los Angeles. They show young women, many posing in swimsuits. "Some of these women have been identified," Capt Peavy said. "Several of them were his wives, ex-wives. But for the most part, the majority of these folks, we do not know who they are, who they were." One of the photographs had been identified as Donnalee Campbell Duhamel, whose body was found in 1978. She was last seen leaving a bar with Bradford. Capt Peavy said the photographs had been put in a file after Bradford's conviction, and subsequently forgotten about. "The fact that he was off the street, he was in custody and he was convicted of two homicides - they knew he wasn't going to be a threat any longer. They may have felt there was no need to pursue these." The case was reopened following a review of closed cases. "I have a number of detectives that I have hired back to look at old cases for DNA evidence and stuff like that," Capt Peavy said. He said the case had generated leads in Michigan and Florida, where Bradford had previously been convicted of sexual assault. One woman came forward after Tuesday's press conference to identify herself as the person in two of the photographs, and the LA sheriff's department said it had have received numerous phone calls suggesting names. At his 1988 trial, Bradford, now 60, was described by the lead prosecutor as "the worst person I've ever prosecuted". His defence attorney said that by asking for the death penalty Bradford had "entered into collusion with the prosecution to ensure his own death". Bradford had remained expressionless when the guilty verdict was handed down. He requested the death penalty, and during sentencing, told the jurors: "Think of how many you don't even know about." He later changed his mind, appealing against the death sentence. In 1998 he changed his mind again and came within five days of being executed before launching a new appeal. He is currently on death row in California's San Quentin prison. Category:Jul 2006 Category:The Guardian Category:Mentions with red links